


I Didn't See That One Coming

by orphan_account



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: AlternaShipping, Alternate Universe - College/University, AlternateShipping, F/M, GreeneyeShipping, RomeoShipping, University AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-03
Updated: 2015-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 02:09:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1411045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A University AU fic from James's perspective.~</p><p>His roommate Brock introduces him to an eager kid who wants to be the pokémon master - and girl who is like no one he has ever met before.<br/>Will the introverted James get his girl?<br/>Will his rebellious best friend Jessie get him into even more trouble?<br/>Will any of them pass their exams?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of the characters, all I own is my words.  
> If you liked it (or if you didn't) please be so kind and leave a comment, any kind of feedback is very much appreciated!

James’s head was pounding. He didn’t have much experience with alcohol and his aching body was telling him it would have been better to keep it that way. He had been sleeping in a very odd position, both his legs hanging off the bed in weird angles. His roommate was nowhere to be seen. Probably off to the communal kitchens to make himself a wonderful breakfast, as he always did. James and Brock had been roommates for a week now and already James envied almost everything about him. He was a natural cook, even inventing his own recipes, his half of the small room was immaculately tidy and to top it all off he already had a large group of friends despite their short time spent at the Pokémon University. James still hung around with the only friend he had had back in his home town, the rebellious Jessie. Though he was glad she had stayed loyal to him even though she had gathered quite a few admirers so far, she was always coming up with the most hair-brained schemes and could never just spend a night in enjoying a movie. Yesterday she had dragged him off to that party and insisted James join a game of beer pong… and another, and another…

  
James sighed. His head was still painful and it wasn’t going to get better if he just lay around feeling sorry for himself. He got up and pulled on a fresh grey t-shirt and the same black jeans he had worn yesterday – it was great not having his mother around to tell him not to! – and made his way to the tiny bathroom Brock and he shared, where he brushed his teeth and washed out his mouth to get rid of the faint leftover taste of alcohol. The face staring back at him from the mirror looked exhausted, purple stubble already sprouting all over his jaw and dark shadows beneath the green eyes he had inherited from him mother. His lavender hair was a mess, but he was too hungry to care. Instead of showering or anything of the sort, he left the room and slouched into the kitchen.

  
Just as he had expected, Brock was standing at the communal stove, pushing a frying pan to and fro. James looked over his shoulder with interest. He was making pancakes! The sweet smell made his mouth water.

  
“Brock, could I by any chance-” James began, but Brock interrupted him.

  
“Of course, I made extra. “ The man smiled, turning around, the still sizzling pancake now on a plate.

  
“You’re a lifesaver!”

  
As Brock plonked the plate down in front of him, he said: “Heard you come in late last night. Jessie got you up again?”

  
“Yeah.” sighed James.

  
He wasn’t really in the mood for conversation. Instead of elaborating on the night’s exploits he began to devour the pancake. Brock’s cooking was delicious as always. James noticed he had added a pinch of vanilla to the pancake mixture.

  
“So you up for a study session in the park today?” asked Brock, sitting down opposite him holding a plate piled high with more delicious looking pancakes. “Or are you too hung over?”

  
That was one of the great things about Brock, and probably one of the reasons why he already had so many friends. He noticed everything, every detail, but he never judged. James had to smile.

  
“Who else is coming?” he asked, feeling uncertain. He hardly knew anyone, but then again: How was that going to change if he never tried anything? He mentally slapped himself, as that had been his internal monologue’s argument for going to the party the night before.

  
“Just a few people, you know.” Brock said absently, cutting his pancake, then he elaborated: “A couple of Pokémon breeders who wanted to study with me, this really eager dude and some of his friends… they’re mostly trainers so you could study with them.”

  
James didn’t answer, instead helping himself to another pancake and sprinkling some sugar onto it. Brock saw him hesitate and smiled reassuringly.

  
“Don’t worry! I’m sure you’ll get on just fine.”

 

- 

 

The sun was shining brightly as James and Brock set out for the small park that belonged to the university campus. Three of the breeder students Brock had mentioned had joined them on the way and were already eagerly comparing notes while James walked beside them feeling slightly left out. The sun was blinding him, but he supposed this was better than spending the entire day in the stuffy room he now resided in. Back home he had had space coming out of his ears, space to do anything he liked… people who cooked for him because it was their job… but he had his own reasons for leaving, he reminded himself. University had been good so far, and he was glad he had made that decision. However he had imagined himself a lot more socially adept when living in that gigantic estate, his parents introducing polite young girls with adequate backgrounds to him every other day. He snapped out of his reverie when he heard Brock shout a greeting. He was waving at two students sprawled on a red picnic blanket out in the middle of the largest patch of grass. One of them, a boy with black hair who was wearing a cap sporting the symbol of the Pokémon league, jumped to his feet and started waving back enthusiastically. The other remained on the blanket, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun. She had shockingly orange hair and a petite figure, emphasized by her outfit: a very short yellow top and a pair of jeans shorts held up by bright red suspenders. He chuckled to himself, thinking to himself that this was exactly the kind of girl he would never come in contact with had he stayed at home with his parents. She was smiling too and he briefly caught her eye. It was purely accidental, but she held his gaze. He noticed she had quite a few freckles covering the bridge of her nose. They made her look rather pretty.

  
“I’m Ash, and this is Misty!” the black-haired boy was saying, shaking each of them firmly by the hand.

  
“Nice to meet ya.” said the girl, looking at them all in a friendly fashion but not bothering to get up and shake hands as her friend had done.

All of them sat down, James between Brock and Ash, who had started a conversation a conversation with his roommate. The girl James had been watching went back to reading. He peeked over and saw it was a magazine showing all sorts of fashionable clothes. She was staring at a chic green belt designed to carry six pokéballs.

“This stuff is way too expensive!” she exclaimed, exaggeratedly cradling her face in her hands.

James glanced at the price and noted that his own, rather bland outfit had probably cost about eight times more, though this was something he would never have mentioned. His family had always been lavish spenders when it came to their son. If they could see him now they might wish they hadn’t spent so much money on him, he though bitterly. He realized he had been staring at the girl named Misty much longer than was appropriated and quickly looked away.

“You’re a trainer too!” Ash said suddenly, looking at him with interest.

“Yeah.” replied James, though it hadn’t been a question.

He wished he could come up with something more interesting to say, but Ash was obviously a good enough conversationalist for the both of them.

“What year you in?”

“First year.”

“Really? So are we!” Ash laughed. “You look way older, no offense.”

“Oh! None taken!” said James hurriedly. “I am. I waited a couple of years… you know, pokémon journey and all that.”

This wasn’t strictly true – though he had been training his Growlithe everyday he hadn’t so much as been allowed to leave the estate. However the small white lie had Ash hooked like a Magikarp on a fishing rod.

“No way, man! What kinda pokémon you got?”

As James groped for the two small pokéballs at his belt and allowed them to take their full size, Misty looked up from her magazine interestedly. He pressed first the one button, then the other, and the pokéballs emitted the familiar glow of red. Between them materialized his pokémon: an abnormally tiny Koffing that emitted a few puffs of smoke, and his trusty friend Growlie.

“A Growlithe!” exclaimed both Ash and Misty and even a few of the breeders looked over at his pokémon.

James beamed with pride. He had trained the pokémon extremely well and always kept its fur gleaming. Ash patted Growlie’s head before it bounded up to Misty. She stroked it and giggled brightly. The sound made James’s stomach feel quite strange.

“I battled one of these once.” she remarked.

“Did it beat you?” James asked, feeling braver now that she was talking directly to him.

“Of course not!” she grinned at him, showing her teeth. “I train only water pokémon – it went out like a candle.”

“That’s our Misty!” laughed Ash.  
Apparently he couldn’t stay out of any conversation for more than half a minute, James thought, slightly resentfully, though he really had no reason to. He called Growlie back to him and the puppy pokémon curled up in his lap.  
Koffing was floating about among the friends of Brock’s, coughing up smoke. James felt his face turn red.

“I-I’m so sorry!” he stammered, trying to get it back into its pokéball. “I haven’t got around to training it properly, yet.”

He finally succeeded, though Koffing left a great deal of fumes in its wake which he waved away from the studying breeders apologetically. When he was done he realized Misty was laughing. He felt embarrassed at first, but her laughter was so infectious he had to join in.

The rest of the afternoon went by in a relaxed fashion and James found himself enjoying every minute of it. He exchanged notes with Ash and Misty and learned that they had a lot of lectures in common. They planned to study together on a regular basis and exchanged numbers, James rather shy as he pulled out his flashy, expensive smartphone. By the time Brock got up to leave, James was almost reluctant to but followed his roommate anyway, saying his goodbyes to the two trainers. As he walked away he couldn’t help smiling to himself. He looked back at the two of them on the picnic blanket and earned a broad smile from Misty who seemed to have been watching him leave. Trying hard not to blush he smiled back. What a great day it had turned out to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James embarasses himself, mostly.

The next day wasn’t as good. For one thing Brock wasn’t making breakfast. The two of them had gone down to eat in the cafeteria, something they had so far only done during lunch hours. Though Brock was an exceptional cook he seemed quite average when it came to grocery shopping and the two of them had entirely run out of anything edible apart from a jar of pickles. They sat together at a crowded table, talking about the lectures they had that day when James felt someone pinch his ear roughly.

“Ouch!” he exclaimed.

“Oh I’m sorry!” teased an only too familiar voice. It belonged to Jessie.

The girl squeezed herself onto the bench next to him, even though there was hardly any room, plonking her tray down on the table before her, spilling some of the steaming hot coffee.

“Where were you all of yesterday?” she asked, wiping away the spilled coffee with her sleeve.

“Study session in the park…” James muttered.

“Oh? With who?”

Though he loved Jessie dearly, he hated the way her tone of voice so often suggested things she didn’t say out loud. The tone of voice she had just used conveyed her incredulity at the fact that James might have gained new friends other than his roommate.

“A few other trainers.”

“I see. Little James is getting out and about!” she laughed, elbowing him in the side.

He didn’t answer, instead spooning up some more cereal into his mouth.

“That night of partying did you a world of good, I suppose.”

James highly doubted this, but he didn’t say anything. Sometimes it was best to let Jessie just babble on; he had been using this technique effectively ever since the early days back home. Apart from Growlie Jessie had been his only friend, though his parent mostly disapproved of her. She had had a ton of crazy ideas, even back then, and had dreamed of becoming a doctor and a famous actress all at once. Lately her dreams restricted themselves to the former – she was now studying to become a specialized pokémon doctor. But the crazy schemes were one of the things he loved about Jessie. She had never let herself be repressed, like he had, which meant that her boisterous personality complimented his own mellower one perfectly. They always had a lot of fun together.

“Here they come now.” Brock said, and it took James a while to understand what his friend was talking about.

When he felt someone squeeze themselves onto the bench on the other side of him, he saw that it was the redhead from the day before – Misty. He was happy to see her, though he could hardly turn his head to look at her on the over full bench. Ash had sat down next to Brock and started talking right away, though not before introducing himself to Jessie with a firm handshake. James had to admire his confidence and openness towards everyone. He himself was feeling rather uncomfortable, squashed to tightly between the two red-haired women. A few years earlier he would most certainly have gotten a boner in this situation, he thought, a tinge of red creeping up his cheeks. He was glad he had his body under better control these days. Jessie had always laughed when it had happened to him in the past, though she had always teased him about it for weeks… but Misty? He had only just met her, after all. What would she think of him? He decided to push these embarrassing thoughts to the back of his mind before something terrible happened and tried to listen to Ash and Brock’s conversation.

“I’m sure he’s not that bad.” Brock was saying, looking at someone behind James.

“Well, he’s the biggest douche I’ve ever met.” said Ash, narrowing his eyes in evident distaste.

Jessie, James and Misty all turned around simultaneously to see who they were talking about. It seemed to be a handsome guy with a shock of brown hair. He was surrounded by a gaggle of excitedly chattering girls and a well-groomed Umbreon was perched on his shoulder, looking at the girls suspiciously with its deep red eyes.

“He’s kinda dreamy.” said Jessie. “If I was a few years younger…”

“Stop talking like that, I bet you’re only about two years older than him.” said James exasperatedly.

“Plus you’re just gorgeous!” Misty chimed in.

James looked over at his friend to see her smiling appreciatively. He knew she loved to be flattered.

Misty wasn’t done yet: “I’d kill for a figure like yours.”

Now James twisted around on the crowded bench to look at Misty. In his opinion she had a wonderful figure. It was thin and streamlined, probably perfect for swimming, a tiny waist but not too thin hips, a small but perfectly rounded butt, and as for her breasts…

“I’m so boyish.” she sighed.

He looked up and saw she wasn’t looking at Jessie but directly at him. She must have caught him staring! He blushed furiously and opened his mouth to say something in his defense, though he had no idea what, but Jessie had burst out laughing and he resigned himself to finishing his meal in embarrassed silence.

“His name is Gary.” Ash was saying. He spat the name out with such contempt as James would not have expected from him. The trainer seemed like someone who was always happy and on top of things, but this person appeared to really get to him.

“Is it true he’s from Pallet Town, just like you?” inquired Misty, issues with her physique temporarily forgotten.

Ash nodded, fuming. Apparently he had become too angry to even speak.

“Well I think he’s a hottie.” said Jessie, turning back for another look.

“And his Umbreon is so adorable!” Misty added as she finished off her jam sandwich. “Though not as cute as your Pikachu, of course!” she hastily added when she saw Ash’s expression. “Where is he, anyway?”

“I left it in my room.” said Ash, obviously pleased at the change of subject. “We have Professor Forrest in a bit and you know she can’t stand him.”

“Because he almost electrocuted her Pidgeotto.” Misty reminded him with a smile.

“Oh, I remember that!” James burst out, having sufficiently recovered for the staring-incident. “That lecture hall smelled of burnt feathers for days.”

Ash scratched the back of his head. “It provoked him.”

The three of them got up to go.

“See you later!” James said to Brock, whom he would meet in their weekly lecture about pokémon types. Before following Ash and Misty, he nudged Jessie, who was throwing another innocent glance in Gary’s direction.

“Have fun in Anatomy!” he grinned at her.

She grinned right back at him, a mocking twinkle in her eyes. “No, you have fun.”

Slightly disconcerted James followed his two new friends towards the door, pushing awkwardly past the group of fawning girls. One of the girls, apparently in a hurry to get Gary a coffee bumped into him roughly. He stared after her, nonplussed, and saw her collide with Misty. The redhead stumbled backwards, but was pushed away by the gaggle of girls who were obviously wary of even more competition for Gary’s attention. Misty lost her balance completely and fell forward instead, right into James. It was all he could do to stay on his feet, reflexively grabbing onto her shoulder with one hand and her waist with the other, thus managing to steady her. Pressed tightly against his chest she looked up at him, her eyes wide and her breath fast. It was a strange moment. They were staring into each other’s green eyes for what seemed like ages and James could have sworn that, just like the movies said, the people around them came to a standstill. He felt his own chest against her body, moving in time with his quickened heartbeat. Suddenly, her expression of shock disappeared just as quickly as it had come and she was laughing.

“I’m so clumsy!” she exclaimed.

Her whole body was shaking with laughter. When he joined in, she rested her forehead against his chest until both their laughter subsided. He cleared his throat and let go of her. He really didn’t want to – holding her had felt so right –, but anything else would have been inappropriate.

“I owe you one.” she said as they continued on their way through the crowd.

Ash seemed to have disappeared, and for some reason James was glad he hadn’t witnessed what had just happened. For one thing he wasn’t sure what was between those two. In fact, since the day before, there were quite a few things he wasn’t really sure of. They caught up with Ash near the lecture hall. Though it was one of Professor Forrest’s more interesting lectures, one about all the different types of poisons, James found it extremely hard to concentrate that day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Misty share a very special moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is super short, it's building up to something, hopefully.

The next time James met Misty it was outside the library. He was on his way to look for some books on how best to train his Koffing when he spotted her leaning against the wall. Ash was nowhere to be seen, a fact that made him both glad and slightly apprehensive. After all, the last time they had been alone together she had ended up in his arms, and it had been… strange. As he walked up to her he noticed she was on the phone, so he didn’t say anything.

“What, really?” she was saying. “That’s terrible!”

James just stood there awkwardly, wondering who she was talking to. When she finally hung up she looked surprised to see him. Her eyes were welling with unspilled tears.

“Just wanted to say hi.” he said feebly.

“Hi.” she sniffed.

They stood there for a moment. James was puzzled. What was one supposed to do in this sort of situation? How did one cheer people up? He really didn’t know.

“Look, uh… is everything okay?” he asked, supposing that this was as good a tactic as any.

“Not really.”

For a moment James was afraid that this was all she was going to say, that he had messed it up and thrown away his chance of being there for her. Suddenly she slumped down onto the floor of the corridor, leaning against the wall.

“That was my sister.” she explained. “She called from home.”

“Want to tell me about it?” James asked, sliding down into a sitting position beside the distraught trainer.

“I don’t want to burden you with it. It’s nothing really.”

James was silent for a moment, before saying: “Doesn’t seem like nothing, though.”

“It’s not important, though. I miss home, I guess. My sisters are running the gym without me at the moment and it looks like they’re not doing a great job of it.”

“The Cerulean gym?”

“Yeah. They’ve been losing almost every battle and the cascade badge is starting to be something of a joke.”

She rested her head on his shoulder lightly. This gesture of familiarity gave James an idea of how to comfort her.

“That’s terrible. I’m sure you’d do a much better job as a gym leader.”

Misty made a small noise that could either have been a giggle or a hiccup. James peered over at her. Her ginger hair was falling across the black material of his jacket and he could just see the tip of her reddened nose.

“Thanks. I will, someday. But until then I’m just not sure I made the right decision in coming here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I sometimes wonder what would have happened had I made different choices, you know.”

James was suddenly reminded of all those hours spent lying on his bed mulling things over. Whether to leave or stay. What to do with the rest of his life. He nodded slowly.

“I wonder about that too.”

Misty lifted her head from his shoulder and turned to look at him. Their faces were even closer than that day in the cafeteria, James noted with excitement and an equal dose of terror.

“Thanks for listening...”

James felt his gaze pulled almost magnetically towards her slightly parted lips which had breathed those words. He became very aware of his own lips all of a sudden: how dry they were, and how they had never kissed anyone before…  
She didn’t kiss him. She leant into him, closer than anyone had ever done. Her warmth enveloped him, and he melted into her body and held her tightly, his arm snaking around her. It was a hug of sorts, but James knew it was more. It contained confessions of weakness and insecurity, and a certain kind of loneliness that neither of them had ever been able to shake. The soft skin of her cheek caressed that of his own unshaven one and her fingertips brushed along the nape of his neck, sending infinite shivers down his spine. They sat like this for a few minutes, not registering the constant stream of students moving past them along the corridor. When they finally let go of one another there was an unspoken agreement between them to never speak of this moment to anyone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James gets himself off to thoughts of Misty, and is invited to a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a while, didn't it? Anyway, have a new chapter!

Ever since that fateful day, James had been extremely preoccupied. He had trouble paying attention in classes, he hardly listened to Jessie’s chatter and he hardly found any pleasure in Brock’s delicious cooking.

“I don’t know, Growlie.” he sighed as he brushed his pokémon’s already glistening ginger coat. “What if this is real?”

The Growlithe looked up at him through its dark eyes and cocked it’s head to one side.

“Back home… all those girls… ridiculous the lot of them! None of them would ever understand me like she does!”

Growlie continued to look at him, almost questioningly.

“I know, I know! I’ve only known her for two weeks. But it feels like so much longer…” He sighed again, more deeply this time. “I’m being stupid, aren’t I?”

His loyal pokémon gave a single bark and sat down on its hind legs. James mirrored it, brush in hand, and was contemplating whether the bark was to be interpreted as a “yes” or a “no”, when the door to his room swung open.

“Oh honey, you’ll spoil that poor thing rotten if you’re not careful!”

It was Jessie. James was glad to see her. He desperately needed something to take his mind of Misty. He returned his Growlithe to its pokéball and stood up.

Jessie didn’t wait for him to greet her: “Listen here! You’ve been falling back into your old moping habits lately and I want to remedy that.”

“Oh?” asked James, raising a purple eyebrow.

“Yes.” conceded his friend, tapping his chest with one index finger. “Even you may be aware of the big full moon party tonight. We’re going.”

James considered for a moment. Though every fibre of his being resented going to a party over-run with jocks and their consorts, he _had_ been waiting for some sort of distraction. And besides, Jessie’s tone didn’t suggest there might be room for discussion. He nodded.

“That was easy!” Jessie grinned. “Good for you! Oh, and in case you need any more motivation to go: that redhead you fancy is going, too.”

“I don’t fancy her!” James exclaimed, blushing to the tips of his ears. “We’re just friends.”

“Well, all of us _friends_ are meeting at the entrance to the main hall at eight.”

Jessie winked at him pointedly and hurried out of the room, leaving James red-faced and terrified. What was he supposed to say when he met Misty? And how had Jessie caught on so quickly? Did everyone know? Did Misty herself know by now? Panic bubbling up inside him he sank down onto his bed. Images of Ash and Misty talking about him and his massive crush swam before his eyes. Was that why he hadn’t seen her in a week? Was she avoiding him?

James turned to face the wall. It was already half past six and Jessie had probably hurried off to Arceus-knew-where… There was no way for him to chicken out now. His only hope lay in distracting himself until eight o’clock arrived. He got up and was just about to leave the room when his reflection in the mirror caught his eye. His hair was all over the place and he needed a good shave. Pleased at having something to do, James headed to the bathroom he shared with Brock. He turned the shower on and stepped into the scolding hot stream of water. In no time at all the bathroom had filled with steam. James sighed as he felt the hot water ease his tense muscles. Closing his eyes, he let it run over his face and soak his hair.

Water… Suddenly all he could think of was one cute little water trainer. Even under the steaming water James blushed. How could he even contemplate her in such circumstances? But the image of her before his mind’s eye just wouldn’t leave. There she was, in all her “boyish” glory… Shining green eyes, cute little freckles covering her nose and upper cheeks, her red hair pulled loosely into that trademark side-ponytail she always wore. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. The gaze of his mind’s eye wandered downwards, to her slim shoulders upon which her red suspenders rested, the yellow tank top hiding almost all of her beauty, but giving him a glimpse of her stomach, pale skin with just a few freckles near her belly button. Then came her jeans, ever so short, showing off her long, toned swimmer’s legs and allowing him to imagine her round, firm ass. James noticed his breath had become husky and realized his cock had become hard at the mere thought of her. Deeply embarrassed he took it in his right hand and began to rub back and forth. At the same time he tried desperately to think of something else – some other girl, _any_ other girl, just _not_ Misty.

He failed miserably. As he rubbed his shaft more vigorously his mind began to drift off even further. He wandered what she would look like without her typical outfit. He began to imagine her lying on her stomach on a large double bed, dressed only in dainty white lingerie. In this fantasy he could clearly discern her hardened nipples through the bras thin material, and the skimpy thong gave him a good view of her perfectly formed ass. His breath came faster as he quickened his pace – back and forth, back and forth… The Misty in his imagination looked up at him with a seductive smile. He gasped.

“Oh James! I’ve been waiting for you!”

He let out and audible yelp at release. The fantasy of Misty was quickly washed down the drain along with his ejaculation. After the initial high of orgasm had passed, he experienced fierce pangs of guilt. How could he have done such a thing? James was disgusted at himself. He quickly exited the shower and the steamy bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. In the hall he ran into Brock.

“Dude! Are you coming tonight?” asked his friend.

“Y-yeah.” James stammered, avoiding eye contact and quickly escaping to his room.

Safely inside he leant against the closed door breathing heavily. He realized he was shaking. This was getting out of hand. He began drying his hair with the towel and got dressed in a simple black shirt and a pair of jeans. He felt awful, sick to his stomach at what he had done. He knew he would never be able to look Misty in the eye again. And this, after they had shared such a special moment!

With anxiety still heaving in his chest he left for the main hall 20 minutes later.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The full moon party is quite a big thing, apparently. WARNING: If you've found James's exaggerated introversion annoying so far, it only gets worse in this chapter. I'm sorry, but that's just what the character is like in my head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll all just have to get used to long waits between chapters... I'm truly sorry abut that, but I promise you I'll finish this!

She was standing there, by the entrance, all alone. James spotted her the moment her came down the steps. He stopped in his tracks. She hadn’t seen him yet, had she? She looked worried, James noted as he watched her bite her lip. He felt so dirty. Without a second thought, he dodged away to the side and hid behind a conveniently placed wall that led into another corridor. There he attempted to calm his breath before peeking around the corner. Misty wasn’t wearing her shorts with suspenders, but a short black skirt and a deep cut green top. She had thrown some sort of grey cardigan around her shoulders but was rubbing her hands up and down her arms as if she was cold. James groaned. Why did she have to be so perfect? What was he even doing here?  
Just then Ash walked up to his friend and put an arm around her. James could feel his heart thumping loudly. Maybe they were more than friends, just as he had feared. In that case at least he could be sure. He took a moment to kiss goodbye his hopes and dreams before resurfacing from his “hiding place” and walking across the main hall to greet them.

“Look who we have here!” exclaimed Ash the moment he set eyes on him. “Haven’t seen you in ages!”

Unable to keep his own eyes off Misty, James mumbled something that could be interpreted as meaning “Studying.”

“You could’ve studied with us, dude!” Misty said brightly, cocking her head to one side.

But she had been avoiding him, hadn’t she? James gulped. Maybe it had been he who had been avoiding her? He really should get out of his own head more. As though to save them from an awkward lull in conversation Jessie and Brock suddenly popped up out of nowhere, in the company of a blonde girl he had never met before.

“We brought your date.” Jessie said with a wink to Ash that reminded James of many times she had proposed a crazy scheme to him in the past. Something about that wink and the undiluted conviction in her voice made the things she said seem like the only right thing to do.

The blonde immediately launched herself forward and onto Ash’s arm, introducing herself and babbling about her studies as a nurse and how she knew Jessie. James was so completely taken aback by this sudden turn of events it took a while for him to grasp the implications: Ash and Misty were clearly not an item if he was willing to let himself be set up with other girls right in front of her eyes. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the spectacle a great deal more than he was as the girl – Jane? Jenny? – dragged him towards the doors. No matter how this bizarre chain of events had been set into motion… to James’s mind it pretty much meant Misty was single. Though for a moment he had been relieved she was irredeemably out of his reach, seeing her suddenly ‘returned’ to him flooded him with such a range of overwhelming emotions it left him winded for a moment. It was all he could to stay on his feet and follow his friends numbly as they exited through the main entrance and headed down the great front steps.

Brock was complaining about how he couldn’t see why Jenny couldn’t have been his date, to which Misty replied something along the lines of “Oh, but he’s having such a good time!”, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“What about you?” Jessie asked Misty, nudging her in the ribs.

Misty hesitated for a second. “Oh no, I’m flying solo tonight. Planning to get shit-faced, if you must know.”

“Yes, I absolutely must!” retorted Jessie and the two of them burst into hysterical laughter.

James wondered how he could have missed these two becoming such good friends. He must really have doubled his usual amount of moping… They hadn’t even reached the party and he already felt like going back to his room and cuddling up with Growlie to watch Netflix instead. He was already contemplating faking a stomach bug when Brock stated that they had arrived on party territory. With a sigh James admitted to himself that Jessie would never have accepted such an excuse anyway and followed the others through the large gates above which hung a crudely painted sign which said “Full Moon Party” in bright luminescent yellow lettering. The location was perfect for an open air party, even James could tell that much. There were buffets lined up on either side of the entrance stacked with a few snacks but mostly drinks and empty plastic cups waiting to be filled, three beer kegs placed with enough space around and between them for enough cheering bystanders (some were at it already) and further off there seemed to be a rather huge dancefloor set up on the already trampled grass with a DJ set up and flashing multi-coloured lights that had been secured among the branches of surrounding trees.

“Let’s go get drinks!” Misty exclaimed hooking one arm into Jessie’s and the other into James’s own.

Shocked by her sudden closeness James allowed himself to be dragged along and before he knew it Jessie had placed an un-identifiable drink in his hand. Then the three of them were off in pursuit of Ash and his blind date and Brock who had already managed to find another stunningly beautiful girl to talk beside the dancefloor.

Dancing wasn’t one of James’s strong points. He had perfected ballroom dancing – or rather, he had been required to as part of his private education – but somehow the typical party dance still eluded him. Was it even possible to look ‘cool’ shaking from side to side like that? He sure as hell couldn’t see any examples of it on the dance floor; he scoffed, scanning the crowd. Of course it was an entirely different matter if you were a girl… James stopped in his tracks.  
Misty and Jessie had sauntered out onto the dancefloor, drinks in hands, and were shaking her their hips in time for the music. They were making a big joke out of it, laughing and even pointing over at Ash who had been forced into a slow dance by the blonde clinging to his neck though the music was beating a fast and irregular pace. Even though she wasn’t taking it seriously, even if she was trying to get drunk and probably making a fool of herself in the strictest sense of the word, just seeing Misty move like that made James’s insides go crazy. He looked down at his cup and realized he had already managed to down its contents. He was going to need a lot more where that came from.


End file.
